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Winning Ugly

Who would have thought that after coming home from Europe I'd run into a sporting event overflowing with flopping Argentines and a crowd nearly rioting in response. If it had been the soccer Champions League final match that took place while I was in Amsterdam last week there wouldn't have been any surprise but for it to happen in Salt Lake City during Game Four of the Western Conference Finals was a bit of a shock.

Yet that's just what happened as Manu Ginobili finished drive after drive by flinging his arms in the air or his body to the floor, drawing call after call in the Spurs 91-79 win. It was the first loss for the Jazz at home in these playoffs and will likely be the last game they play in white jerseys since they haven't won a game in San Antonio since 1999. Ginobili's 11 fourth-quarter points from the free throw line led to outbursts that got Jerry Sloan ejected and an uncharacteristic attack byDerek Fisher which sent him to the same fate. The Utah crowd, frustrated and realistic about their team's chances, responded by throwing stuff at the court. They even hit Bruce Bowen with something while Ginobili responded by throwing his hands up and pleading ignorance to his role in all the unseemliness.

Even if Ginobili is a flopper, the Jazz have to look at themselves in the mirror for why they failed to protect their home court. Manu got to flip and flop because he kept taking the ball at the Jazz and receiving harsh rebukes every time. It's all well and good that he earned a call or two more than he should have but this was hardly a case of phantom calls piling up. While Ginobili was assaulting the rim and forcing the issue the Jazz kept settling for jump shots and relying almost solely on an ailing Deron Williams for offense. They made more field goals than San Antonio but their 20 free throw attempts were 10 fewer than the ones made by the Spurs. Those free throws are a byproduct of aggressiveness, not just because they exaggerate the hits they took from Utah defenders, and some of Sloan's anger should be directed at his team's offensive passivity. The Spurs won by playing ugly, something Sloan excelled at as a player, and no matter how terrible it is to watch the only way for the Jazz to extend this series is to get just as ugly and assert themselves the same way Ginobili did last night.